The Shaykh : As for the other story, it is like its first counterpart in that it relates to the preceding verse:
And whoever fears Allah - He will make for him a way out (3) And will provide for him from where he does not expect.
ومن يتق الله يحعل له مخرجًا * ويرزقه مِن حيث لا يحتسب
I state in advance that it is in *Sahih al-Imam Muslim* and is from the hadith of Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
While a man from before you was walking in a desolate part of the land, he heard a voice from the clouds saying—meaning, to the clouds—“Rain on the land of so-and-so”—a voice that is not natural, not like the voices of humans heard from the sky; we hear thunder, but we hear a voice like that of humans that those on earth understand—“O cloud, move and rain on the land of so-and-so.” So this man walked with the cloud until he saw it pouring its load of water into a garden he had looked upon. He saw a man working in it, so he approached him and greeted him. The man looked at him and said: “You seem to be a stranger.” He said: “Yes, but I heard such and such, and I walked with the cloud until I reached you, and I knew that you are the one intended by the one who said to the cloud: ‘Rain on the land of so-and-so.’ So you are so-and-so. How did you attain this?” He said—this is the state of righteous servants who are not arrogant and not pleased with themselves—“I swear by Allah, I do not know, but I have these three parts of my harvest: I plant them and harvest them, and I divide my harvest into three parts: one third I return to my land, one third I spend on myself and my dependents, and one third I give in charity to the poor and needy around me.” He said: “So this is it.”
بينما رجل ممن قبلكم يمشي في فلاة من الأرض إذ سمع صوتًا من السحاب يقول -أي: للسحاب-: اسق أرض فلان -صوت غير طبيعي لا يسمع أصوات من السماء كصوت البشر، نسع الرعد الرعد، لكن نسمع صوت كصوت البشر يفهمه مَن على الأرض- يا سحاب انطلق واسق أرض فلان، فسار هذا الرجل مَعَ السحاب حتى رآه يَصُب مشحونه من الماء في حديقة أطلَّ عليها فرأى رجلًا يعمل فيها، فدنا منه وسلَّم عليه فنظر إليه قال: كأنك رجل غريب، قال: نعم، لكن أنا سمعت كذا وكذا، وسِرت والسحاب حتى وصلتُ إليك فعلمتُ أنك أنت المقصود بقول من قال للسحاب: اسق أرض فلان، فأنت فلان، بم نلت هذا؟! قال: -شأن العباد الصالحين غير المغرورين غير المعجبين بنفوسهم- قال: والله لا أعلم، لكن أنا عندي هذه الأض أزرعها وأحصدها وأجعل حصيدها ثلاثة أثلاث: ثلث أعيده إلى أرضي، وثلث أنفقه على نفسي وعيالي، وثلث أتصدق على الفقراء والمساكين الذين حولي، قال: فهو هذا
So, this righteous man who fulfills the right of Allah the Mighty and Majestic performs a righteous deed, which is planting, and then he does not forget the right of his land, nor the right of himself and his dependents, nor the right of the poor and needy who live around him. So Allah made the cloudy sky subservient to him. This is one of the meanings of the saying of Allah the Exalted:
And whoever fears Allah
ومن يتق الله
the verse.
